


A Timely Rescue

by valdomarx (cptxrogers)



Series: Octoberfest fics [2]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Bitter Jaskier | Dandelion, Hurt No Comfort, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26826466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cptxrogers/pseuds/valdomarx
Summary: Jaskier gets kidnapped by Nilfgaardians looking for Princess Cirilla. Too bad he doesn't have any information to give them.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Octoberfest fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956754
Comments: 15
Kudos: 183





	A Timely Rescue

Jaskier twisted the chains securing his hands above his head, counting out beats in the darkness. Hours had faded into days had faded into an interminable passage of beats here in this black, damp basement.

The only division of time was the periods when rough Nilfgaardians would unchain him to beat him or throw morsels of mouldy bread or almost empty waterskins at him. He had come to almost welcome the beatings, harrowing as they were, because at least there was stimulus. Pain and misery, yes, but better than being alone in the endless darkness, feeling himself unravel inch by inch.

They asked questions of him, sometimes: Where was Princess Cirilla, where had the Witcher taken her, how was she disguised. Jaskier would laugh at the irony if he had the energy. He had no answers to tell. Geralt hadn’t trusted him enough to give him any details when they travelled together, and he certainly wasn’t passing any information to him now.

The last time he’d seen Geralt was months ago on a barren, windy mountaintop, spitting about what a burden Jaskier was. Jaskier had tried to explain that to his captors, but they either took him for being considerably braver than he actually was, or they simply enjoyed having a plaything to abuse.

Over the drip of water from the damp ceiling, he thought he heard a shift in sounds. He strained his ears to pick up the change, and somewhere distant he thought he heard the pounding of feet, though perhaps this was just another imagining. He’d discovered the mind played strange tricks when left alone for long enough.

He’d convinced himself there was nothing there, so the creaking of the door to the basement opening had him shaken. Was it time for another beating? Or something worse? Perhaps his captors were at last convinced he had nothing to tell them and were readying to dispatch him. He found he didn’t object to the idea overly. At least he would be free of the darkness.

He was confronted with a sight that made him sure was hallucinating: White hair, dark armor, one blood-splattered sword. 

“Jaskier?” Geralt’s voice shook.

He barely managed to grunt out an answer before there were hands all over him (too much, too painful, too intimate). The last thing he recalled before he passed out was the clang of metal against chains.

* * *

The first thing he noticed when he awoke was the pain. The second was Geralt’s worried face peering down at him. The third, and most remarkable, was the light which beamed through the forest treetops and made his eyes ache. He wondered if light had always been this bright, and he’d never noticed until it was taken from him.

“I’m sorry, Jaskier,” Geralt looked at him with wide, amber eyes. “I’m so sorry. I should have found you sooner. I should have been here to protect you. I should never have sent you away in the first place. Can you forgive me?”

He blinked slowly and looked back at Geralt, really looked at him. There were dark smudges beneath his eyes and his skin was even paler than usual. He was thinner too, lean and worn. His face was gaunt and his lips held in a tight line of misery.

There was a time when simply seeing him in the state would have Jaskier running to his side, ready to give his everything in return for whatever scraps of affection he could get.

But something had cracked inside him in that dark basement, and now, looking at his companion of two decades, he felt nothing but cool indifference.

“Too little,” he said, voice scratched but steady, “too late.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [tumblr](https://valdomarx.tumblr.com/post/630898864886595584/a-timely-rescue-whumptober-day-2-kidnapped).


End file.
